75TH ANNIVERSARY: Hervey Bay – a golf club built by volunteers over 75 years

By Peter Owen

A DECADE ago the future of the Hervey Bay Golf Club was at the crossroads. Costs were rising, membership falling, the bar and bistro were losing money, and debts were growing.

The golf club, which had been meeting the needs of Fraser Coast golfers since before World War 2, needed a new direction.

It found it in 2014 through a unique partnership it formed with the nearby Hervey Bay RSL.

In short, the RSL leased The Clubhouse – the social infrastructure of the golf club – to the RSL and RSL members overnight effectively became social members of the golf club. In turn, all golf club members were made members of the RSL, able to enjoy the amenities and fellowship of that organisation.

“We could never make money from catering,” recalls recently retired secretary Dawn Spencer, known to everybody in Hervey Bay as ‘DK’. “Finances were tight from early 2010 after $1.5 million was spent on renovations and debt had been incurred.

“Our committee approached many clubs in the region but they were interested only in buying the property for its location and for future development,” she added.

That wasn’t an option for a club that had worked tirelessly for more than 65 years to provide a golf course for Fraser Coast residents and visitors – much of it a result of countless days, weeks and years of voluntary labour by people dedicated to the game of golf and the club.

“Our partnership with the RSL is very strong,” said DK. “All debts have been paid and we have funds to make many course improvements for the benefit of members, guests and visitors.”

As part of the agreement, the RSL agreed to completely refurbish the rebranded Clubhouse Hervey Bay, a program due for completion next year. 

The renovated Clubhouse comprises a licensed restaurant, bars and entertainment areas, and provides a delightful setting for members, their families and friends, and visitors. 

There’s a gaming room with 45 poker machines and a Keno terminal, a children’s entertainment area, two function rooms, a sports bar, and live music every Friday and Saturday nights.

Members enjoy special rates on food and drinks, as well as discounts at the Hervey Bay RSL.

Freed from the financial burden of catering, the club devoted its attention to the golf course.

Course refurbishment continues with additional drainage to some fairways, the rebuilding of three greens, with a fourth due this month, and a ‘19th’ green built to ensure 18 hole competitions can be played even during periods of fairway maintenance.

Membership numbers have risen to about 1000 and the club is now being forced to consider capping numbers – something that was unthinkable only a decade ago.

The future has never been brighter for a golf club that this month celebrates its 75th anniversary, culminating with an ‘Afternoon on the Green’, to which all past and present members have been invited.

The club’s history dates back to 1937 when the Pialba Golf Club established a nine-hole course at Point Vernon, the culmination of months of work by volunteers wielding picks, shovels and scythes.

The course – long, narrow and largely unprotected from the elements – comprised four holes beside the road and another five coming back alongside the beach. Balls that found their way onto the road, or splashed into the sea, were declared out of bounds.

The club went into a three-year recess during the war years from 1942, and while it was closed the course deteriorated significantly. 

In 1946 the 65-strong membership voted to spend 1100 pounds and buy 150 acres of land, which accommodated a high-block house, which became a licensed bar, and several sheds. With the help of a band of willing workers, a new nine-hole course materialised.

The official opening of the Pialba Golf Club took place on December 21, 1947. In those days a competition round cost the equivalent of 15 cents, annual membership was $3 and a chilled glass of beer after a round set you back 12 cents.

Twenty years later, a new clubhouse was built at a cost of $40,000 – courtesy of local builder and golf club member Alf Khaler, who constructed the building at cost. In 1977, another nine holes was added.

Throughout its history, Hervey Bay Golf Club – it was renamed in 1966 – has relied heavily on volunteers. And there’s never been a shortage. Traditionally all golf matters – competitions, handicaps, membership registers and general club management – has been handled by volunteers.

Even today the club employs only a limited number of staff – seven greenkeepers, two of whom are apprentices, and two office staff. Everybody else – even the club secretary – is a volunteer.

The club – now managed by a committee of nine members headed by president Kath Griffith – has always given priority to the wellbeing of the golf course.

Over the past two decades, all tees have been renovated, new greens established, a large new dam was constructed, and the bunkers have been redesigned and rebuilt.

The committee’s policy was to always use available funds each year on maintaining and developing the course. Future development was limited only by the funds available.

The result has been a golf course of rare quality – a challenging 18-hole layout that can test the best golfers, with beautifully bunkered greens, lush fairways and an excellent practice area.

Built on generally flat land, the course measures 5897 metres. It’s a par 70 for men, with two par threes and one par five on each nine. Women play their 5217m course as a par 72, with extra shots on the demanding ninth and 15th holes.

The course looks a picture and attracts an abundance of birds and animals, including kangaroos which appear in the early morning and late afternoon to nibble the luxuriant grass.

Professional golfers gather each July to contest the two-day Fraser Coast Legends Classic, and DK Spencer says they are always complimentary of the course, describing it as ‘testing and a real challenge.’

Members and guests get the chance to play competition golf seven days a week, including Monday vets, with male and female members competing together every day.

Play invariably starts from just the first tee, with as many as 230 golfers lining up for the popular Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday events.

There are always opportunities, however, for members and visitors to play a social round.

Golf memberships cost $923, and there are categories for Country Members ($600), Juniors (from $157 to $239), Temporary Members ($110 for a month) and Friday Members, who pay $185 for the chance to play in the club’s popular nine-hole Friday competition.

DK Spencer first played in those Friday events, then took some lessons and was persuaded to join the club. She fell in love with the game, wanted to help the club, and for five years served as secretary, relinquishing the position only in September.

Her successor is Alan Bassingthwaighte, who gave up his position as club vice-captain to take on the new responsibility.

“Now I’m looking forward to playing more golf,” DK said. 

She’s also coordinating activities for this month’s 75th anniversary.

Celebrations are planned for the weekend of November 26 and 27, culminating with an ‘Afternoon on the Green’ from 2pm on Sunday, November 27. 

The afternoon will comprise live music, afternoon tea, drinks and the cutting of a birthday cake by the club’s youngest and oldest members.

A chipping and putting competition will take place on the nearby ninth green, where golfers will use hickory clubs and balata balls.

Each guest will receive a 75th anniversary memento – either a hat clip marker or keyring marker – and have the chance to enter a raffle for a prize of a year’s free membership.

A Powerpoint presentation will run through the afternoon, highlighting the outstanding progress of the club over the past 75 years. 

And, of course, it will be a great opportunity for past and present members to get together, rekindle friendships and swap stories about a remarkable community-based golf club.

Hervey Bay Golf Club Inc
Cnr Tooth and Old Maryborough Road
Pialba Qld 4655
Phone: (07) 4124 4544
admin@hbgcc.com.au